“There is no house like the house of belonging.”–David Whyte.
Innovation has always been the main driving force for the human condition, especially in the face of adversity. It helps us solve problems through creativity, bringing about improvements that implement long-term positive changes as a whole. This is especially necessary now that more and more of the general population all throughout the world moves from the province to the city either due to school or for work. This causes a strain on real estate due to limited space available in the urban landscape that most often drives prices up and affects the quality of spaces to decrease. Add to this the emotional and mental toll that leaves those building their new lives in the city, and a macro-socioeconomic strain in the city that would leave its inhabitants reeling.
This is especially apparent in the landscape of Metro Manila. For most Filipinos, living away from family is hard. Among our culture’s central focus is the sense of belongingness, a trait we share with our Asian counterparts. For us family is being surrounded by people we care for, a place we can call home. Long before coliving became a trend in the West, we have already long been practicing it with our nuclear families and our compounds that help us form a sense of community while at the same time allowing for an economical advantage for living space. It is this sense of connection and stability that nurtures students into early adulthood and creates a culture shock when a dreary approach to living solutions is introduced to them when they enter tertiary education.
This sudden loss of connection is perhaps the greatest challenge for gen Z college students, especially those coming from the provinces. Hard enough to adjust to a new school, with new peers, and towering schoolwork to do, they also have to deal with being homesick.
Most students deal with it by joining school organizations that would help them expand their social life, while others go online and try to find meaningful connections there. At the root of it though, they are simply looking for a place in the city that they can also call home. Don’t we all? It’s important to maintain a positive balance between the physical and emotional aspect that will help transform and maintain the space into a home. It is in search of this balance that makes it sometimes seem like finding a dorm that will provide this is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
It seemed that the concept of coliving was forgotten in the desire to fill in the supply of dormitories for students who make up a considerable amount of the population in the U-Belt area. In this almost gold rush, comfort and connection were put in the back-burner which, in turn, created a stifling environment unfit for students in need of a conducive environment for learning. The balance was overturned, and human connection with which these students grew up with, were suddenly gone from the picture.
This is where Rentalbee comes in.
Home is not just the place, it’s also the people who make it so.
Rentalbee started in Manila, right at the heart of the U-Belt area. It came into being when the founders, Ryan and Patrick, were trying to rent a place, with close to no success at finding one. Although the U-Belt is rich in density with dorms for lease, not a lot is up to par with modern standards. It was either too expensive for a student’s pocket or too much of a bargain that safety becomes an issue. Sometimes it was the living space that became a point for concern, with some properties too claustrophobic to almost be considered habitable. Who knew to find a dorm in the area was going to be that hard?
It was then that Rentalbee was born, with the goal of partnering with dormitories that will collaborate with them to implement changes that will transform a living space into an enticing property complete with a modern twist. By partnering with properties, Rentalbee can share and implement tech-enabled coliving and its standards, thereby modernizing dormitories and making it fit for the young market.
This time around the coliving concept once again takes center stage, combining it with technology to provide easier access to both the property owners and student dormers.
Instead of churning out subpar living spaces that seem to sap the soul, quality is prioritized and the student’s comfort is given the appropriate regard. The living space was no longer limited to just the four corners of the rented room but instead expanded throughout the whole property by applying the holistic understanding of the students’ needs and wants. Amenities are standardized, allowing for a prime environment where students’ needs are met. Examples of these are basic amenities like a furnished room, drinking water, a food hall and especially the Wi-fi.
Most important, study areas are also included with these standards and are sometimes even combined with common areas, providing an avenue for the community that all students need. Creating an area for students to meet and get to know each other, an organic community is developed, successfully the coliving space into a place worthy of being called home.
Partner properties who meet and subscribe to the Rentalbee coliving standards are listed on the Rentalbee web site (www.rentalbee.ph), allowing for the seamless use of technology for both the property owners and the student dormers. This ease of access increases profit for the property and saves the time of dormers by allowing them to interact with each other wherever, whenever.
This holistic approach has enabled amazing changes within the ecosystem of the student housing industry. Students now have communities even within their dormitories that enable them to build lasting connections, while properties are upgraded and updated to modern standards. All of this work with the Rentalbee web site that connects everyone efficiently and effectively.
Indeed, this approach to students has proved successful for the company. Rentalbee was the first runner-up in the 5th Philippine Startup Challenge held in Iloilo City in 2019, attaining DICT funding from the competition.
Rentalbee is also currently featured in CNN’s The Final Pitch, where they duke it out with other start-ups and acquire funding from industry giants.
The path may not always be easy and effortless, but the fruits of labor have been of equal equivalence. Our community of students have found meaningful connections with each other that have lasted, and our properties trust us in helping them. Our goal now is to bring our tech-enabled coliving concept nationwide and help both properties and dormers have the Rentalbee experience.
Watch the entrepreneurs like Rentalbee on The Final Pitch Season 5: Real Estate and Livable Cities Edition. Premieres Sundays 8:30 p.m. with replays Mondays 9:30 p.m. and Saturdays 5:30 p.m. on CNN Philippines. Check out TheFinalPitch.ph to watch previous episodes and seasons.
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